A fire that broke out Saturday afternoon near a popular trail in the Columbia River Gorge forced about 140 hikers to spend the night outside.

The Forest Service will deliver supplies to the hikers either by helicopter or by volunteers walking food and water in, said Joel Ives, a Hood River County sheriff's deputy. No one has reported an injury or illness, he said.

The hikers were expected to sleep near Tunnel Falls, about 6 miles from the Eagle Creek Trailhead, and walk toward Wahtum Lake in the morning, Ives said.

A portion of the Eagle Creek Trail had been closed for weeks due to another fire, the Indian Creek Fire, which ignited July 4 at 7 ½ Mile Camp. But with hot weather and a holiday weekend, hikers still tramped up the trail toward the cool spray of Punchbowl Falls, about 2 miles in.

"It's a busy trail, and this is a busy weekend," said Rachel Pawlitz, a spokeswoman for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

When the fire ignited about 4 p.m. Saturday a mile up the Eagle Creek Trail from the trailhead, it left more than 150 people stranded.

University of Portland student Cameron Wong said he and four friends were among the last to pass the fire before flames made exit impossible.

He described steep terrain to his left, looking down at the trees and seeing flames rising up through the branches.

Wong said he later looked back and saw flames on the trail.

At one point, the fire was only about five feet away, he said.

"It was super hot," he said. "It was hard for us to breathe."

The group began to run.

Behind them, Wong estimated, were as many as 100 people enjoying the cool water at Punchbowl Falls.

"I hope they are OK," he said. "We count ourselves very lucky."

The fire grew quickly. By 10 p.m., about 200 acres had burned.

Of the 150 or so people caught in the area above the fire, just 17 were able to get out without having to shelter overnight.

A group of 14 hiked to Wahtum Lake with Forest Service security personnel and made it out late in the evening, said Ives, the Hood River County deputy. And a Oregon National Guard helicopter picked up three people who had been on the Ruckel Creek Trail and in the most potentially dangerous situation.

Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue and Mountain Wave Search and Rescue were among those working to make sure hikers get out safely.

So were a crew of about 18 firefighters who had been assigned to the south end of the fire further up the Eagle Creek Trail. The crew had been keeping track of people in the area, spokeswoman Mary Huels said, and they helped to herd hikers to safe spots.

Three helicopters and two planes dropped water on the fire, officials said. Aircraft were diverted from the Indian Creek Fire, which has burned about 360 acres in the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness of the Mount Hood National Forest. That fire has been active due to the hot and dry weather.

About four miles separated the new Eagle Creek Fire from the older Indian Creek Fire on Saturday afternoon, Huels said.

The Eagle Creek Trail is now completely closed, and the Pacific Crest Trail is closed from Bridge of the Gods to Wahtum Lake.